How to treat a busted bracket

The 2011 NCAA men’s basketball tournament is a glorious time to be a fan. Even the casual fan gets involved filling out brackets and playing in the office pool. It’s also when the so-called experts come out to tutor everyone about picking winners. They have their strategies of “pick the highest seeds” or even “go with the higher RPI.”

Still, inevitably, everyone settles into their own strategy for prognostication. The first weekend always leads to the crushing realization that the little old lady at work who picked based on uniform colors had the better strategy.

With fall of Pitt, Louisville, Texas and even Xavier many of us have become afflicted with a busted bracket. Take heart, there are thousands of you out there dealing with the same problem and with this guide you can find some comfort and a possible cure.

What is a busted bracket? A busted bracket occurs when the teams you scientifically chose to win in the tournament are beaten by lesser teams. You know, when one or two no name players have the game of their lives and push your chosen ones off the edge. A busted bracket means:

You’re out of the tournament

Won’t finish in the money

The rest of your office mocks you.

A busted bracket, especially if you are the first one who loses their final four, qualifies for ridicule and spectacle.

How do you know your bracket is busted? Your Mom calls you and starts giving you grief about picking Pitt to make it to the final four. You also know when you login to Yahoo and see the following:

How long does it take to recover from a busted bracket? 360 days is what the rehab for a busted bracket runs. Until then you have to put up with Cindy at the office reminding you she finished ahead of you, Bart the grocery clerk prodding your pick of BYU going all the way and, of course, your Mom chiding that you should never pick against the blue toned uniforms.